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It's been kind of a mixed year for Jason Bateman the actor, with Horrible Bosses becoming a hit, but Paul and The Change-Up failing to attract the masses. Bateman the producer, on the other hand, is becoming more active, taking on projects like Under the Banner of Heaven and ID Theft.

Bateman will star in the comedy ID Theft for Universal, and was originally set to appear opposite a male comic foil. Following the success of Bridesmaids earlier this summer, that plan changed.

Deadline says that Melissa McCarthy's "scene stealing role" as Meg in Bridesmaids attracted the attention of Bateman, who pushed for her to be his costar in ID Theft. The role now belongs to the actress, who was best known for playing Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls before this year.

The premise for ID Theft involves a regular guy (Bateman) who... gets his identify stolen by a thief (McCarthy). Steve Conrad (The Weather Man, The Pursuit of Happyness) penned the original draft of the script, which is now being reworked by Craig Mazin (Scary Movie 3, The Hangover Part II).

Mixed feelings about the writing talent working on ID Theft aside, Bateman and McCarthy sound like a potentially terrific comedic pairing. The former would of course be the straight-man of the odd couple, playing his trademark dry and deadpan approach to humor off McCarthy's more colorful and outspoken style. It's a joining of comical forces that could work as well as Steve Martin and John Candy in Planes, Trains & Automobiles - and be more memorable than the similar pairing of Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis in Due Date last year.

However, aside from either ID Theft or The Insane Laws, the (potential) upcoming Jason Bateman comedy that fans want to see is the long-in-development Arrested Development movie. The recent rumors circulating about what the plot might entail have only renewed excitement among fans, who are still eager to see Bateman reprise his role as the head of the dysfunctional Bluth clan.

ID Theft is already a sure thing and will begin production in April 2012. As always, we'll keep you posted.